The Four Most Effective Ways To Enhance Your Workflow

Oh, how times have changed. What constitutes a workplace today is different than what it used to be. Twenty years ago, who would have thought that you could work from a different country than your employer and connect via Skype, text messaging and instant messenger? But no matter where your place of work may be—a cubicle, from the comfort of home or at your local Starbucks coffee shop—there’s no better work schedule than a productive one. In just four steps, here’s how you can begin to conquer the procrastination blues and by doing so, maximize each and every minute you’re on the clock.

Know Your Peak Performance Times of the Day

Everyone has a window of time when they are most productive. Do you naturally have more energy during the morning, at lunchtime or in the afternoon? If you’re a morning person, schedule your meetings when you’re most alert. If you’re awake and energized in the afternoon, redesign your schedule to reflect a productive afternoon of work and devote the morning to email correspondence and phone calls. Maximize your work day by focusing on a peak productivity work schedule—and beat the procrastination blues!

Put Yourself on ‘Email Time Out’

Let’s face it: how often do you start one project—creating content for a website, or preparing notes for a presentation—when an email pops up and distracts you from your task at hand? When you don’t designate specific times of your day to devote to email correspondence, you lose time out of your day. You get distracted. You lose the focus and attention that your bigger and more pressing projects require. Need a solution for the madness? Give yourself an ‘email time out!’ Set the timer at the start of every hour for ten minutes. Go crazy checking, sorting, writing and deleting emails for ten minutes. When the timer goes off, stop emailing (it can wait!) and refocus your attention to your most urgent project. When you stop switching gears every few minutes (every time an email comes through your inbox), you get more done, with less stress and in less time!

Soak Up Some Vitamin D on Your Lunch Hour

When it’s time for lunch, step away from your desk. Put down your smart phone and head outdoors for some vitamin D. Not only does sunlight re-energize you to tackle your day ahead and help you fight the blues, but studies show that getting natural sources of vitamin D daily contribute to a stronger immune system. Soak up that sun and come back to work feeling invigorated and as the most efficient you, you can be!

Fuel Up on Super Foods in the Afternoon

Do you doubt that any food could be, in fact, super? Well, think again because not all food is created equal. That burger and fries doesn’t protect your immune system like a bowl of yogurt topped with chia seeds and fresh fruit does. Keep your energy level up, your metabolism going strong and your productivity at an all-time high with the following foods: apples, cranberries, shrimp, almonds, salmon, chia seeds, yogurt, artichokes, blueberries and sweet potatoes (among many others!)

Now it’s your turn. Have you been struggling to keep yourself productive during the work day? Are you more productive at different times of the day and notice that at other times, you’re useless? Do you need to make some dietary shifts in order to feed your body the kind of food it needs to perform optimally?

I’d love to hear from you, so comment below and let me know what changes/shifts or other advice you could offer to help us all.

Did you like this post? If so, please share it with others by clicking on any of the share buttons below.

Toneka R. Etienne, Ph.D., is a Psychologist, wife, mother, and creator at www.tonekaetienne.com. Toneka is a self-love advocate encouraging women to balance their daily lives with the ambition to continually pursue their dreams. Her calling is to fully support women as they call soulful purpose and intention into their life and business connected to their deepest and most authentic selves. When she's not holding sacred space for women's transformation, Toneka can be found doing her favorite things: spending time with her husband and two daughters, traveling, reading, connecting with like-minded visionaries, and looking for divine inspiration.

Share this:

Tags

Toneka R. Etienne, Ph.D., is a Psychologist, wife, mother, and creator at www.tonekaetienne.com. Toneka is a self-love advocate encouraging women to balance their daily lives with the ambition to continually pursue their dreams. Her calling is to fully support women as they call soulful purpose and intention into their life and business connected to their deepest and most authentic selves. When she's not holding sacred space for women's transformation, Toneka can be found doing her favorite things: spending time with her husband and two daughters, traveling, reading, connecting with like-minded visionaries, and looking for divine inspiration.